Windows 11 and Windows 10 can access the geographic location of your PC at any time. Access to the location is essential to offer search results consistent with the place where we are but also to update the weather forecast, to provide updated maps or to provide precise location in case of loss of the laptop.
Access to a permit as sensitive as the location is shown to the user with the appearance of an icon at the bottom right and the phrase Your location is currently in useso that each user knows exactly when the computer is collecting geographic location information.
In the guide that follows we will show you how to adjust location access on windowshow to revoke localization permissions to unwanted apps and how disable location features entirelyso you can use Windows as it was intended on Windows 7.
READ ALSO -> Maps in Windows 10 and 11 to download and see even offline
Control access to the location
To check the apps and functions that access the location on Windows 11, simply press on the Start menu, click on the item Settingspress on the menu Privacy and security and open the menu Path.
If we use Windows 10 the path to follow is Settings -> Privacy -> Path. In the window that opens we will be able to manage access to the location by Windows services (Location services) and at the same time change the access permissions to the location for all the apps in the list. Even simple programs will appear in this list: just scroll down to view them.
If we notice any app that should never use the computer’s location we can disable this permission by pressing the switch next to it. From experience we advise you not to disable the services related to the use of maps or apps that provide weather data.
From the same menu we can set the default position and clear the history of the positions collected so farso that we can maintain a certain level of privacy when we move around with the laptop.
Manage location based anti-theft function
One of the most useful functions associated with localization is the Windows anti-theft system, which allows us to track down a lost or stolen laptop. If we see the writing appear often “Your location is currently in use” on Windows it is because of this function, which must constantly monitor the movements of the laptop.
To manage the anti-theft function of Windows 11 open the Settings menu, press on Privacy and securitylet’s open the menu Find my device and turn on the switch next to the item Find my device.
If necessary, Windows will ask you to activate the localization services that may be disabled on the system: we follow all the suggestions given to make the Windows anti-theft work correctly. On Windows 10 the anti-theft can be activated from the path Settings -> Update & Security -> Find My Device.
The alarm can only work if we have a active Microsoft account as computer administrator. In the unfortunate hypothesis of loss or theft of the laptop we can trace the lost computer by turning on the Microsoft site from another computer or phone.
Completely disable device tracking
If we use a desktop computer and / or we are not interested in the localization functions we can disable them completely by taking us on the path Settings -> Privacy and security -> Path (or in the path Settings -> Privacy -> Path on Windows 10) and disabling the items Location services e Allow apps to access your location.
To deactivate the alarm, simply go to the paths seen in the previous chapter (Settings -> Privacy and security -> Find my device su Windows 11e Settings -> Update & Security -> Find My Device on Windows 10) to turn off this feature.
To completely disable the localization features of Windows 11 or Windows 10 we can also use a privacy tool such as DoNotSpy11 e DoNotSpy10already seen in our article on how block data collection in Windows 10 and 11 with automatic programs.
On the anti-theft function for Windows computers we recommend that you read our guides on how to activate the anti-theft on a laptop come on how to find a stolen laptop.
Conclusions
The appearance of “Your location is currently in use” on Windows should not immediately alarm us, as many legitimate services and apps can use the detected geographic location. The location will always be very roughsince it is collected via the Wi-Fi network and there is no GPS sensor on the laptops.
With the tips seen in the guide we can decide which apps can access the locationhow to activate the anti-theft function in Windows and how to completely disable the location functions (especially on desktop PCs).
To learn more we can read our guides on how to turn off location on Android, iPhone, Windows and how locate and find the geographic position of mobile phones or PCs.